Assumptions behind an evaluative test: "You know your suit is excellent when people ask about the tailor who made it." Determine which assumption(s) are implicit (I: People do not ask about the tailor if the suit is not good; II: People want to know the criterion of an excellent suit).

Given data

• Indicator offered: Public inquiries about your tailor signal an 'excellent' suit.
• Assumption I: Such inquiries do not happen for poor/average suits.
• Assumption II: People want to know general criteria for an excellent suit.

Concept/ApproachFor a behavioral cue to serve as a reliable indicator, it must occur primarily when the evaluated item is excellent and not when it is mediocre. The speaker does not need a meta-desire about 'criteria' (II).

Step-by-step reasoning1) If people also asked about the tailor when the suit was bad, the test would be invalid. Therefore I is necessary.2) The statement provides a cue; it does not assume the audience wants philosophy of 'criteria.' Hence II is unnecessary.

Verification/AlternativeNegating I breaks the reliability of the cue; negating II does not affect it.

Common pitfalls

• Confusing an indicator (behavioral cue) with a learner's desire to know abstract criteria.

Final AnswerOnly assumption I is implicit.